Release fittings for ships&#39; lifeboats



Aug. 9, 1955 J. M. BINMORE 2,714,731

RELEASE FITTINGS FOR SHIPS LIFEBOATS Filed y 8, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 1955 J. M. BINMORE 2,714,731

RELEASE FITTINGS FOR SHIPS LIFEBOATS Filed May 8, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent RELEASE FITTINGS FOR SHIPS LIFEBOATS John M. Binmore, Torquay, England Application May 8, 1951, Serial No. 225,192 Claims priority, application Great Britain June 12, 1950 Claims. (Cl. 9--44) This invention relates to release fittings for ships lifeboats and has for an object to provide attachment means connecting the falls to the lifeboat, said means being so contrived that the falls are readily disengage able from the lifeboat when or before the boat touches the Water but cannot be accidentally disengaged.

A fitting according to the invention comprises a hook pivoted to at least one tie bar fixed to the keel of the lifeboat, said hook being formed with an arm projecting from the shank of the hook away from the bend of the hook, the outer end of said arm being pivoted to one end of a link the other end of which is connected to one end of a second link, the opposite end of which latter is pivoted to a fixed support, means to cause dis placement of the point of connection of the two links,

and stop means to limit the extent of displacement of said point in one direction at least.

The inner contour of the portion of the hook terminating in the point of the hook may be such that the distance from the pivot to any point on the inner contour decreases as the point of the hook is approached. Alternatively, the inner contour of said portion of the hook may be such that the distance from the pivot is the same at all points.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation in part section showing one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the bow and stern portions of a lifeboat incorporating the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 1 denotes a hook pivoted at 2 to a tie bar 3 adapted for connection at its lower end to the keel of a lifeboat. 4 denotes an arm projecting from the shank of the hook I and pivoted at its outer end at 5 to one end of a link 6, the other end of which link 6 is pivoted at 7 to one end of a second link 8.

The link 8 is carried by a pivot 9 supported by the tie bar 3.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 a radius rod 10 is connected at one end to the link 8 at the point where said link 8 is pivoted to the tie bar 3, the link 8 and the radius rod 10 constituting a bellcrank. 11 denotes a lanyard one end of which is held stationary at 12 on a hook casing 26 fixed to a support 27, the bight passing around a pulley 13 journalled at the free end of the radius rod 10. From the pulley 13 the lanyard 11 passes through a pulley 28 and a guide 18 attached to the side of the lifeboat, and its other end is connected to a handle 14. 15 and 16 are abutments at the respective ends of a guide 29 attached to the bar 3 as shown, these abutments operating as stops to limit the amplitude of swing of the link 8. 17 denotes a compression spring operative to cause the radius rod 10 to move in the direction away from the hook 1. The compression spring 17 is carried on a seat 30 pivoted to a bracket 31 fixed to the bar 3, the seat 30 comprising the lower portion of a frame 32 partly surrounding the spring 17 and slidably arranged with respect to a cap member 33 pivoted at 34 to an "ice arm 35 on the link 8 opposite the radius rod 10. The cap 33 includes a means 36 engaged by t pp find of the spring 17.

24 denotes a shackle connected to the boat falls, and 25 is a fixed abutment.

In practice, a fitting as described is provided at each end of the lifeboat, and the shackle 24 of each fall is connected to the hook I of a respective fitting. Th pull of each fall is transmitted directly through the hook I to the tie bar 3 and to the keel of the lifeboat. The lanyards 11 from the fittings in the respective ends of the lifeboat as shown in Fig. 2 extend respectively through the closed guides 18 fastened along the side of th boat and are both connected to the handle 14 so that when the handle 14 is pulled, both of the hooks may be released.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, force accidentally applied to the hook 1 to cause the hook I to swing about its pivot 2 in the direction to disengage the hook I from the shackle 24 on the end of the fall causes the two links 6 and 8 to be put into compresslon as before, and, since the abutment 15 prevents the point of attachment 7 of the two links 6 and 8 from moving, the hook I is prevented from swinging about its pivot 2. To disengage the hook I from the fall, the lanyard 11 is pulled by means of the handle 14 the radius rod 10 swinging towards the hook I, and: since the radius rod 10 forms one arm of a bell-crank lever the other arm of which is the link 8, said link 8 also swings to the same extent as the radius rod 10, and, since the link 8 forms one element of a toggle at 7, the oint of the toggle moves to the opposite side of a stra1ght line connecting the points of attachment 5 and 9 of the two links 6 and 8, and the toggle collapses. The hook I thus swings about its pivot 2 and the shackle 24 of the fall is disengaged.

Where the centre portion of the hook I is so contoured that its distance from the pivot 2 decreases towards the point of the hook I, the eifort required to disengage the hook I by pulling the lanyard 11 is such that t 1s impossible to disengage the fall unless the lifeboat 1s rest1ng on the water, since it would be necessary to raise the lifeboat relatively to the fall before disengagement would take place. Where the centre portion ofthe hook 1 is so contoured that the distance of all points of the inner contour from the pivot 2 is the same, the only effort necessary to disengage the fall is that required to overcome the friction of the hook 1 against the shackle 24 of the fall and the friction of the mechanism. In such a case it is possible Where reqllllfifd, e. g., for extremely rapid launching of a boat, to tdlsengage the falls before the boat has touched the wa er.

What is claimed is:

1. In a release fitting for a ships lifeboat having a keel and including at least one tie bar adapted for connection at one end to the keel of the lifeboat, a hook pivoted to the other end of said tie bar, the hook having a structure in which the distances from the pivot of the hook to all points of the inner contour of the hook are at least as great as the distance from the pivot of the hook to its inner contour at the point of the hook, whereby the weight of the lifeboat on the hook has no tendency to release the hook, an arm rigidly connected to the back of the shank of the hook opposite the point of the hook and extending therefrom, a link pivoted at one end to the outer end of said arm, a bell-crank having a fixed pivot spaced from the link one arm of which extends to and is pivoted to the other end of said link thereby forming a toggle with a toggle joint at the pivot point between said link and arm, and means Q) connected to the other arm of said bell-crank for rocking the bell-crank and the hook on their pivots.

2. A release fitting as claimed in claim 1 in which the distance from the pivot of the hook to the inner contour of thethook decreases toward the point of the hook.

- 3. In a release fitting for a ships lifeboat having a keel and including at least one tie bar adapted for connection at one end to the keel of the lifeboat, a hook for supporting at least a portion of the lifeboat pivoted to the other end of said tie bar, a link pivotally connected to the back of the shank of the hook opposite the point of the hook and extending therefrom, a bellcrank having a fixed pivot spaced from the link one arm of which extends to and is pivoted to the other end of said link thereby forming a toggle with a toggle joint at the pivot point between said link and arm, means connected to the other arm of said bell-crank for rocking the bell-crank and the hook on their pivots for moving the hook to its disengaging position, said toggle joint being movable from a position on the side of a straight line connecting the hook pivot to the link and the bellcrank fixed pivot opposite the point of the hook where the hook is locked in engaging position to a position on the other side of said line where the toggle is collapsed and the hook is in disengaging position, and means engaged by the toggle joint for limiting the movement of said toggle joint to and between said positions.

4. A release fitting as claimed in claim 3 including means operatively associated with said bell-crank for biasing said toggle joint to a position on the side of said straight line opposite that of the point of the hook in which the hook is in its engaging position.

5. A release fitting for a ships lifeboat having a keel, comprising at least one tie bar adapted for connection at one end to the keel of the lifeboat, a hook pivoted to the other end of said tie bar and integrally including a rigid arm projecting from the back of the shank of the hook away from the bend of the hook, a link pivoted at one end to the outer end of said arm, a bell-crank pivoted to said tie-bar of which one arm is pivoted to the other end of said link and forms with said link a toggle, means connected to the other arm of said bellcrank to rock said bell-crank in one direction for collapsing said toggle and releasing said hook, biasing means connected to said bell-crank to oppose rocking movement of the bell-crank in said one direction, and stop means in the range of rocking movement of the bell-crank whereby to limit the extent of rocking movement of said bell-crank in a direction opposite to said one direction for retaining said hook in its engaging position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,192,543 McNabb et al July 25, 1916 1,582,741 Ferguson Apr. 27, 1926 1,756,213 Robinson Apr. 29, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 313,668 Germany July 17, 1919 419,474 Great Britain Nov. 13', 1934 

